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It has been said that a business must grow or die. Many businesses start because someone knows how to do something and they start a company to do it. While expertise in their field is required to start, expertise in business strategy will be required to keep it going and growing. So what can someone do to move from subject matter expert to business strategist?

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A down vote with no explanation? That's not very sporting. – Kenneth Vogt May 10 '11 at 6:48
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You seem to have hit a nerve with some people (the down vote wasn't me) but I think people have objected to the string of your "becoming ..." questions. I think they sit within the guidelines of "build good answers to a range of questions" but they may be a bit broad "how should I live my life" sort of questions that you can't really answer in a page. – Robin Vessey May 10 '11 at 8:57
Yes, I was reacting to something in meta. I didn't think it was that broad but opinions are like belly buttons -- everybody has one. – Kenneth Vogt May 10 '11 at 14:29
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I'm guessing it was downvoted because it is a poorly written question, and hard to answer properly in its current form. There are several problems with the question: 1) It is too broad. Because it's lacking details it's hard for someone to focus, and give you a good answer; 2) The lack of details gives the impression that you put very little time, and thought, in the question, and some may even be offended by that; – Zuly Gonzalez♦ May 10 '11 at 16:21
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(Cont.) 3) The question leads itself to being answered with just a list of resources (I'm glad to see the answers so far have stayed away from this), and we try to stay away from questions that are simply a compiled list of stuff; 4) Because you posted so many similar questions, it gives the impression that you don't really need these questions answered. There is nothing wrong with posting questions simply to add content to the site, but people will be more motivated to answer a question if they think it is a real problem. – Zuly Gonzalez♦ May 10 '11 at 16:22
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That is a great question. I think I would start the same way my professor in grad school told me to start getting ready to write a thesis- by producing an "annotated bibliography". That is, find the best books and articles on business strategy, and then just begin to summarize them. Then I would just keep writing what you learn - a blog would be perfect for this. Fake it until you make it. Keep writing about business strategy and pretty soon you will become a business strategist. You become what you do.

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thanks for the suggestion. That is exactly what I am looking for. Where are the suggestions for that "annotated bibliography"? – Kenneth Vogt May 10 '11 at 14:27
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I would recommend playing strategy games against human players. One game that I believe has taught me how to strategy during negotiations, is the game of risk. This game has also taught me general strategical thinking, which is relevant for business strategy. Another game is, of course, monopoly.

The reasons why I recommend playing games is that I consider strategical thinking more of a skill than knowledge.

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lol+1 for bringing gaming into business strategy :) – edralph May 10 '11 at 15:19
I also know that Bill Gates, who obviously has a decent understanding of strategy, played lots of board games during his youth. – David May 10 '11 at 15:35

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